1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an evaluation apparatus and an evaluation method for evaluating, based on research results obtained for information propagated among a plurality of organizations, how one organization has influenced another organization.
2. Description of the Related Art
Nowadays, emails, mailing lists for email systems, and electronic bulletin board systems using the WWW (World Wide Web) are commonly used as organizational communication (organizational communication) means that employ an information technology (IT).
Since messages to be by these organizational communication means are stored in message logs, these messages can be analyzed, as needed, and the analyzed results can be used.
For an email that is propagated as a message using an organizational communication means, included in a message log is a header, which includes data such as a title, a poster and a date, and message text. In JP-A-11-242545, for example, a system based on a natural language is disclosed that searches a message log for such data.
As another example, in JP-A-6-059993 a method is disclosed whereby data included in a header are used for network management (the analysis of a routing delay, and the storage of a log).
As an additional example, in JP-A-6-259345, in JP-A-11-015757, and in JP-A-6-062046, a method is disclosed whereby data included in a header are used for an agent process (the sorting of emails) performed on a reception side.
However, the objectives of the system and the methods disclosed in these documents are not designed to provide for an evaluation, using accumulated message logs, of the extent to which one organization influences others.
Therefore, by using any of the systems and the methods, it is not possible to objectively perform an evaluation (a value evaluation) to determine how a specific organization influences other organizations or the data provided for the other organizations, and to obtain a value for the specific organization.
On the other hand, there is proposed a method for analyzing a message log from the viewpoint of organizational communication means, and the usefulness of the message is discussed academically (see documents: “Advances in social network analysis: Research in the social and behavioral sciences, pp. 167–203, Newbury Park, Calif.: Sage, 1996 ACM 0-89791-782-0/96/04, JCMC 3(4) June 1998”; and “Work group structures and computer support: A field experiment, pp. 324–343, Portland, Oreg., United States, 1988 ACM 0-89791-282-9/88/0324”).
However, the method proposed in the above documents is not a method to be used for analyzing a message log, and for evaluating the obtained results as the value of a specific organization, such as a company, among a set of organizations. Further, for the analysis, a method is not disclosed for automatically performing the process proceeding from the acquisition of a message log, produced from organizational communications, and continuing until an analysis of the message log has been completed.
In addition, there is known a method for analyzing a message log that has been obtained as the result of organizational communication means, and of visualizing information representing relationships among posters (see document: “Takahashi, Kitayama and Kaneko: Weighing and visualizing organization awareness in network communications, Bulletin of Information Processing Institute, Vol. 40, No. 11, pp. 3988–3999, November 1999”).
Further, in JP-A-10-301905, a method is disclosed for analyzing a message log in order to use relationship information in common.
Furthermore, there is known a method for employing relationship information to calculate various indicators including an indicator for visualization.
However, according to the methods disclosed in the above documents, merely organizational communications are visualized, and an evaluation of the value of an organization is not performed.
Therefore, by using any of the methods disclosed in these documents, an evaluation of the value of an organization cannot be objectively performed.